Steven Broomhead is chief executive of Warrington Borough Council. In his latest column, he discusses his view on Christmas

OUR town is now in full swing for the festive period.

I’ve come to the conclusion that Christmas is manic and an orgy of consumption. It’s a brief respite for our brick and mortar retailers from their difficult and continuing struggle during the year as the online click to buy takes over.

We seem to have lost the true meaning of Christmas, particularly its Christian tradition and values, giving thanks, sharing and caring and spending time with friends and family. We are in a swamp of turkey, crackers, wrap, crap, glitter balls, cakes, Slade, mince pies and Jingle Bells.

Please don’t get the impression that I am a Bar Humbug person but I find the philosophy of having to buy presents for a receiver who probably doesn’t want or need them a little difficult to understand.

My personal purchase of an upside down Christmas tree for the office is a symbol of my small rebellion to the yearly madness.

Home Christmas decoration in particular has become a challenge.

As Eric Hobsbawn the sociologist, said “The less sophisticated the population, the greedier its taste for decoration becomes”.

Do the lights work?

Is it still PC to put a fairy on top of the tree, the Christmas card list and mistletoe is definitely out these days these are some of the ritual critical path analysis decisions that need to be made on the road to the Big Day.

At least it’s a break from the overwhelm of Brexit.

That is an issue I believe the town should take as seriously as Christmas itself as the outcomes could be very significant short and long term.

I guess I will be ‘partaking’ of Christmas and doing my bit to contribute to the town’s economy and productivity measures.

To parody Gloria Gaynor ‘Yule Survive’.